Additional Resources

Urgent Matters Website Redesign

April 30, 2008

The Urgent Matters website has been redesigned to provide more content on patient flow and emergency department crowding in an updated format. New features on the homepage include Urgent Matters Spotlight and In the News. Urgent Matters Spotlight provides information on the newest additions to the website. In the News includes headlines and links to important outside news articles on patient flow and emergency department crowding.

Assessing Health and Health Care in the District of Columbia

February 7, 2008

RAND, in partnership with the George Washington University Department of Health Policy, recently released a working paper describing interim findings from a study of health and the health care service delivery system in the District of Columbia. The goals of the study are to: (1) conduct a comprehensive health needs assessment for Washington DC; (2) assess the quality and accessibility of the District’s health care delivery system for individuals with urgent or emergent medical needs; and (3) use information from those assessments to identify and assess various policy options for improving the health care delivery system. This document summarizes findings related to the first two goals. A final report will include findings relevant to goal three.

To view the working paper, click here.

Emergency Department Performance Measures: Creating Consistency in a Chaotic Environment

November 15, 2006

In February 2006, nineteen influential members of the emergency medicine community met in Atlanta to discuss and develop performance measures for the emergency department (ED). The purpose of the meeting was to begin the process of standardizing the terminology and implementation of ED performance measures that will serve as markers of operational quality. The resulting Consensus Statement produced by the Atlanta summit is being circulated among the emergency medicine community for comment and discussion. Additionally, this report was recently published in Academic Emergency Medicine: Acad Emerg Med. 2006 Oct; 13(10):1074-80.

To view the report, click here.